Wednesday, January 28, 2015

A floating artificial reef would let you walk down into the ocean deep

This month, a grim study in the journal Science reported what we've feared for decades: That the ocean may "be sitting on a precipice of a major extinction event," in the words of one author.

There's a colossal amount of work to be done if we want to turn it
around—including reclaiming habitats, which is the goal of this
ambitious proposal by three young architects.

Of course, one of the best ways we can do this is by reducing carbon emissions and ocean acidification, a horrifying phenomenon in which CO2 is actually changing the chemistry of our oceans to make them toxic to sea life.

But
there are plenty of smaller measures that can help, like the
reclamation of habitats for ecosystems that once thrived naturally.

Artificial reefs have been around for centuries, of course, but in this
case we're talking about a kind of reef that's built not as
a defensive measure for cities or ports, but as a proactive way to help
life flourish anew in areas that were once natural habitats.

These reefs
can take a huge range of forms, which is what makes them so cool.

Sea
life, like all life, really, is incredibly adaptable and resilient.

Disposing of old subway cars in the ocean creates habitats for marine life and supports recreational fishing.

New York City Transit has provided more than 2,500 retired subway cars to several states along the east coast of the U.S.A. Before the cars are 'buried' at sea, they are stripped of potential environmental contaminants and then steam-cleaned.

Ignore the name—BIODIVER[CITY]—and focus on
the renderings, which show a huge floating platform that's accessed via
boat on the surface.

Below it, hundreds of tubular struts hand down into
the ocean, serving as a place to cling for the coral and other
microorganisms that thrive on reefs.

According
to the architects, the idea is to allow visitors to this natural "zoo"
to descend deeper into the reef to observe how the ecosystem changes as
you move further away from the surface.

At the top, you might see larger
mammals like dolphins and small fish, but as you descend into the
circular tunnels that hang from the floating mega-structure, you'll see
less common species, which the architects describe as "creatures of another time."

Of course, this is just a concept.

It's easy to imagine that such a
structure could have a negative environmental impact—hey, is that a
cruise ship in one rendering?!—but it's still an interesting (and
beautiful) take on an idea that needs as much public support as it can
get.

Another
more realistic new development in this fight comes from a group of
marine biologists who argue that the mega-structures that can promote
habitat reclamation already exist in the ocean—in the form of
our aging oil rigs.

In some cases, they argue, rich ecosystems already
exist beneath the surface of these hulking steel machines, and they
ought to be left standing in place to benefit the sea life that's
already sprung up around them.